Protect pets on July Fourth with proactive safety steps

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Pet trainer Mikkel Becker with Vetstreet.com says never take you dog to a fireworks display. Keep them at home, in a safe place.

"They go into this all-out panic and from the dog's perspective it makes sense."

You might want to play some music to drown out the scary sounds of those exploding fireworks. She suggests classical music.

"Play it at a loud enough level that it's not too loud, but it will still drown out all the extra booms."

Becker reminds us that more pets run away from home on the 4th than any other day of the year.

"So if you're having a lot of people over for the 4th, that's the perfect time to keep your pet on leash and also consider having them in a certain room if you need to, if they're the type of dog that likes to dash out the door. I would never leave your pet unattended in the back yard, but especially not during the 4th of July, they can easily escape and chances are once they get out they may keep running if they're in an all-out panic."

If you have fireworks at home, store them in a secure place. They may contain chemicals that can be toxic to your pet.

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